Breakeven
by arilovexo
Summary: Ross and Laura lost contact a year ago. After a visit from his brother, she realizes that he needs help and in order to help him, she has to let go of the past. Ross/Laura


_I wrote this awhile ago. I liked the idea. So, I went with it. _

_It's sad and there are flashbacks (they're every other line break)._

_Enjoy :) _

_I don't own anything. _

* * *

She sat outside in the warm weather, a light breeze blowing through her hair has she stared straight ahead at the beautiful scenery in front of her. She heard a soft meow and turned, confused, only to see she was still alone. She felt something on her ankle and looked down to see an adorable baby kitten, rubbing it's head against her. She picked it up and held it in front of her. It stared back at her, tilting its head adorably and she smiled.

"You're very cute," She told the kitten. "Do you have a home?"

"Meow."

She sighed, "guess not." She smiled and then nuzzled her nose against it's nose and giggled. "I think I'll keep you for a while." She whispered and then bounced it on on her lap. She heard the sound of someone clearing their throat and then a hand was gently placed on her shoulder. She turned around to see Rocky was behind her and looked up at him, letting out a sigh, "hey Rocky."

"Hey Laura," He said softly and then looked down at the kitten she was holding, "uh whatcha got there?"

She looked down at the kitten, "he's my new kitty friend. I just found him and I don't have a name for him yet."

"I'm sure you'll think of something soon," He assured her, but then he looked down.

"What are you doing here?" She softly asked him and he looked up at her again, "I haven't seen you since-"

"The fight, I know." Rocky sighed, "look, I get that he hurt you and I get that you aren't on speaking terms anymore, but he's really messed up," Rocky's tone broke and Laura immediately looked away, keeping her mouth shut. "You're the only person on the planet who can reach him. We've all tried."

"Look, Rocky. I'm sorry, but I can't-"

"I'm not here to guilt you into anything, I'm just here to ask you for help. We've tried everything and nothing's working." Rocky continued, "he's… fucked up."

It was silent for a few seconds as Laura stared out in front of her again, the kitten moving and making small noises on her lap. She let out a sigh and then stomped her feet, standing up, she turned to face Rocky.

"I know you came here out of the kindness in your heart to help out your brother, but if whatever you guys are doing isn't working, then what makes you think I can help him? He's a drug addict, Rocky. He needs to go to rehab and nothing I say or do is going to make a difference." She stared at him, her eyes intense and Rocky nodded, sighing.

"True but-"

"But nothing, Rocky. Rehab is what's best for him right now, not a random visit from me after a year of not speaking to each other," And with that, she walked passed him, holding the kitten close to her chest, she walked all the way to her room and closed the door. She leaned against it, biting her lip as she felt the tears coming to her eyes, but willed them not to fall. After a few minutes, she heard the door to her apartment open and close. She closed her eyes, sighing and then sunk down to the ground, her legs spread in front of her.

As much as she wanted to help (and the good person inside of her was fighting against her to come out), she knew she couldn't go back there. After everything that happened between them, there wasn't a point to.

He was on his own, just like she told him he'd be the a year before.

* * *

She laughed as she ran across the set, going behind the Sonic Boom counter, she ducked, sticking her head out of the right side, only to see there wasn't anybody there. Panting and trying to catch her breath, she leaned against the counter, when suddenly she heard a loud, "boo!" and let out a scream, falling to her right side as Ross just laughed beside her.

"Gotcha," He said as he grabbed her hands and helped her up.

"I was so close to winning that time!" She said, her hand going to her chest, "oh my god, you scared the crap out of me!"

"I'm sorry," Ross said as he continued to laugh, "sorry, I can't stop laughing, that was so funny." She stuck her tongue out at him just as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. Then he playfully stuck his tongue out at him and then let her go, backing away as Calum and Raini joined them on set.

"What have you two been up to?" Raini asked, looking at Laura who's hair was all messed up. She smirked, narrowing her eyes, her finger went from Ross to Laura, "were you two making out? Oh my god! Finally!"

"What?"

"No!"

They both said and then looked at each other, awkwardly looking away.

"Really?" Calum asked, giving them a look.

"Really," Ross nodded his head and then picked up his script, "so uh, ready to do the run-through?"

Laura looked at him, wondering if Calum or Raini hadn't said anything, if he would still be awkward about what had just happened. Sure, they were only fifteen and had known each other a short amount of time, but she wondered if he ever thought of their friendship as more and if it would ever turn into something more.

As he looked over at her and not so subtly gave her a smile and she smiled back, she realized that it didn't matter to her. As long as they were friends forever and never stopped, she'd be happy.

He was her best friend and that wouldn't ever change.

* * *

Vanessa was sitting in the living room, going over lines when she heard the doorbell ring. She stood up to answer it and opened it to reveal her younger sister, who was staring at the ground. As soon as the door opened though, she lifted her head and Vanessa saw tears in her eyes.

"I'm not a bad person am I? For not helping him," Her tone broke and Vanessa sadly shook her head.

"You're not a bad person," She told her, "regardless of the reason, it doesn't make you a bad person."

Laura nodded and then stepped closer to her, she fell against her, her arms wrapping around her big sister. Vanessa did the same and they just stood there in silence for a few moments, until Laura looked up at her.

"Rocky came to visit me yesterday," She said quietly, "he thinks I'm the one that can reach him, get him to get better, but I can't. He's not going to unless he wants to."

Vanessa stayed silent for a few moments, running her fingers through Laura's hair, an action that used to relax her when they were kids. "I know this is the last thing you're going to want to hear right now, Laura, but I think he's right." She paused as Laura just looked at her, "you two are best friends and you were more at one point. You know more about him than anybody else on earth does. You were able to get him to agree to things no one else could and… right now, he needs you. He needs you more than ever."

"We haven't spoken in a year." Laura argued.

"Doesn't matter. Whatever you two fought about, it happened a year ago. Now he needs you and you need to be the bigger person and help him out."

Laura sighed, "I know, I just..I can't. I left for a reason, I can't just come back, it would just confuse him."

Vanessa looked at her, really looked at her, "are you sure it would confuse him or are you talking about yourself?"

* * *

"So, we're going to be best friends forever right?"

Laura looked behind her, scrunching her face up adorably as she looked at him. He had his arms spread wide and a smile on his face.

"Why are you standing behind me like we're on the Titanic?" She asked him. "We're just on the rooftop of your house."

"I like to live dangerously," He shrugged and then jumped down so that he was on ground level with her. He looked behind him at the step, "though you should probably get up there, you're kinda short."

"Shut up." She playfully shoved him and just as her hand touched his chest, he grabbed it. They both looked at each other and then quickly, he let it go. She looked behind her at the step pointedly, "you know, just doing that, isn't so dangerous."

"Oh yeah?" He asked her, "let's see you do it."

"Fine." She said and then jumped up onto the step, she looked down at him and grinned, "I win."

"Yeah, you win this one," He told her as he passed by her and she jumped down, to follow him into the house so they could go back downstairs. "But you're not gonna win for long."

"Yes I will, I'm gonna be… victorious," She winked at him and he laughed, putting his arm around her.

"Whatever you say," He shrugged and then his eyes lit up. "Ooh! Can we come up with cool code names, like Troy and Gabriella?"

"The only reason why I'm letting it slide that you know what High School Musical is, is because you have a sister." Ross just shook his head, "and anyways, Troy and Gabriella aren't friends, they were for about twenty minutes and then turned into something more."

"Yeah at the end of the second movie," He scoffed.

"No, they turned into more than friends at the end of the first movie. You know, during Breaking Free when they were singing they were all in love with each other and it was cute."

"Whatever, I still think Troy and Gabriella work."

"I'm sorry, but I don't see it." She said, tilting her head as they started walking down the stairs.

"You never know," Ross shrugged as he let go of her and went down a couple of steps, looking up at her, "they became more than friends at some point, maybe it'll happen for…"

"Us?" She asked.

He looked down, "I was thinking more like Austin and Ally, but yeah if you want to go there, fine. Just know it wasn't me, it was you."

She laughed, "right, Ross, whatever you say." She went passed him and he turned to go after her, deep in thought.

"Fine, what about…" He trailed off as he tried to think of the perfect best friend pair, when suddenly he snapped his fingers, "Ron and Kim!"

"They became more than friends too."

"Lizzie and Gordo?"

"Also more than friends."

"Cory and Topanga?"

She gave him a look, "really?"

"You're making this so much more difficult than it needs to be," He whined.

It was quiet for a few moments, before she smiled at him.

"That's a…creepy smile you have there, Laura."

"Tommy and Chuckie," She grinned, and then looked at him, almost as if challenging him to go against her.

"They're both boys."

"So, I can be…a boy." She said lamely blinking as though she was trying to make a point but failing. "Anyway, that's our code names, Tommy and Chuckie and if we do end up as more than friends, we can be Troy and Gabriella."

She wasn't sure what she was hinting at by saying what she did, but she saw Ross smile and that was good enough for her. He held his hand out, taking hers in his, he shook it, "deal."

* * *

She was already regretting this.

But Vanessa had been right.

He needed her. Regardless of what happened in between them, he needed her more than ever.

And she wasn't heartless. She was going to be there for him. Even if it went against everything she wanted, she was going to be there, even if it killed her.

She walked up the steps of the familiar pathway, briefly flashing back to when she was fifteen and she and Ross were playing a game of football with his siblings and Ratliff. By the time she had gotten rid of that memory, she was standing at the front door. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then lifted her hand up to knock on the door.

She heard someone shout that they would get it (it sounded suspiciously female) and then the door opened and she was face to face for the first time in years with her best friend.

"Laura?"

"Hey, Rydel," She said and before she could say another word, Rydel's arms wrapped around her and she hugged her tight.

"I'm so glad you're here," She whispered into her hair, hugging her tight and then she let her go. Laura took a moment to look at her and noticed that even though she was a bit worried and scared for her brother, she was still tan, still blonde and still drop dead beautiful.

Shaking her head, she just gave her a shaky smile and then followed Rydel into the house and into the living room where she saw a pretty normal sight. Riker, Ratliff, Ryland, Rocky and Mark where all sitting on the couch, watching a football game.

"Look who's here," Rydel spoke up and they all turned to see Laura. Rocky caught her eye and gave her a small smile and she just gave him a nod.

"Oh thank god you're here," Riker said standing up, he walked over to her and hugged her, "how have you been?"

"Fine." She answered, greeting everyone else and giving them hugs, "um, where is he?"

"With Stormie upstairs in the bathroom," Mark answered and she nodded. "Give them a minute, I'm sure he'll be back in his room soon enough."

Laura nodded again and then it was awkwardly silent as she just played with the zipper of her leather jacket.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Ryland asked her and she shook her head.

"I'm fine, thanks."

The more she waited the more she was regretting being there. She broke things off with him for a reason (the break-up had been mutual, but their friendship had been totally on her part). Being back there was just making her think of everything that had happened and all she wanted to do was leave.

Soon enough, she heard the sound of a door opening upstairs and then Stormie telling Ross to go into his room. Her eyes filled with tears and she wondered what had happened to him that had made him this way. She bit her lip to keep from crying and then turned to Rydel, just as a door closed and Stormie came down the stairs. Laura turned in time to see her and immediately the older woman hugged her tight.

"Go ahead," Stormie told her and she nodded, looking back at everyone else, before slowly going up the steps. She would have asked someone to go up with her but she knew (as did everyone else) that it was something she needed to do on her own.

She laughed a little bit at herself as she had found it somewhat surprising that she still knew where Ross' room was. Though, it had only been a year, not that long to forget something as silly as that. She stood outside of it for a few moments, before she softly knocked on the door.

"Go away!" She heard Ross yell. "Fuck off everyone!"

Wow that was… she didn't even know what to think about that.

So, she did the one thing she knew would not only piss him off, but was something she used to do when they were younger. She just opened the door and stepped inside the room, softly closing the door behind her. His back was turned towards her so he didn't see her.

"If that's you mom, I don't want to talk to you right now. Nothing you do is going to make me talk to you." His voice was rough, very raspy, raspier than it normally was, she noticed.

"Then it's a good thing I'm not your mother," She finally spoke up and that's when he turned around to look at her. Her breath caught in her throat and her breathing stopped as she saw him for the first time in over a year. His skin was pale, his eyes looked sunken in and his nose was red and bleeding. He also looked thinner and it made her want to cry at what he had done to himself.

But what was worse, was though his eyes were dull and almost gray, she still saw the fifteen year old boy she'd fallen in love with all those years ago.

And that was what scared her the most.

* * *

What Laura liked most about Ross was his carefree spirit. No matter what it was he did, he always made her laugh. Even when she didn't want to laugh, he still somehow managed to get her to and she figured that was just a good quality to have.

"Come on, Chuckie!" Ross jumped in front of her as they walked on the pier, Rydel, Ratliff, Rocky and Riker were in front of them, Calum, Raini and Ryland behind them talking about something they both weren't really paying attention to. "What's the point of going to the pier if you're not going to go on a roller coaster?"

"I still value my life," She teased him, "I'm almost sixteen."

"Yeah, me too." He waved off her concern. "It's just a roller coaster and it's not like a major one. It's small and it's fun and it's the best thing you'll ever do in your entire life."

"I still think there are other things that will be above going on a roller coaster at the pier."

"Come on, please? For me?" He pouted at her and gave her his best puppy dog eyes, the kinda eyes that made Laura's heart melt.

"Fine, but if I go through with it, you have to do something for me."

"Anything."

She didn't know where it came from. Her sudden boldness.

What she did know though, was that she didn't want to him to hold it against her for life after she said what she was going to say.

"Anything, anything?" She asked him and he nodded.

"Yeah, anything you want."

"For a roller coaster? Are you sure about that?"

"Laura…" He trailed off, giving her a look and she sighed, then she took his hand and pulled him towards her as Calum, Raini and Ryland went to join everyone else. She looked up at him.

"I want you to kiss me." She finally said and Ross' eyes widened slightly. She knew she shouldn't have said it, but it was something she genuinely wanted. They knew each other well enough, she supposed. The Tommy and Chuckie nicknames having stuck with them through the last seven or eight months of their friendship. They were best friends. She didn't want to ruin that but at the same time she wanted something more and was sure he felt the same way. She also knew he wasn't going to make the first move.

Or at least, she thought he wasn't going to.

"Nevermind," She said after a few moments of them just standing there and him just looking at her in shock, "it was stupid, I shouldn't have-"

He quickly shook his head, "no, Laura, wait," He said just as she was about to walk away from him. He gently grabbed her shoulder and spun her around.

"What?" She asked, tilting her head.

"I…" He didn't know how to say what he was going to. He just sighed and put both his hands on her shoulders, staring right at her. "Stand right there," He finally said and she just looked at him. His hands then went to her waist and he pulled her closer against him, one hand moving to tuck her hair behind her ear and brush against her cheek. Then he leaned in and gently pressed his lips to hers, kissing her softly before breaking it and looking at her. She smiled and he smiled back at her.

Suddenly, she didn't care about the roller coaster and could see he didn't either. She wrapped her arms around his neck and then hugged him, smiling as he hugged her tighter.

"Thanks Troy," She whispered in his ear and Ross pulled back. She just smiled at him and just by that nickname alone, he knew things were going to change forever.

* * *

Laura leaned against the door and closed her eyes for a few moments before opening them and looking at him.

"What are you doing here?" His tone was almost mean. She thought about giving them the finger, but then remembered they were both adults now and that she had to be the bigger person.

"I'm here to talk some sense into you," She answered, stepping away from the door. She looked at him, "look at you, Ross, you're a mess."

"I'm fine." His tone was still cold.

"You're not fine," She answered back, her tone just as cold, if not more, though it did waver slightly. "If you were fine, you wouldn't be looking like the drug addict you've become."

"How would you know? You haven't been in my life for the last year," He shot back and she just closed her eyes, taking another deep breath before speaking again.

"So what?" She asked, raising one hand and letting it fall back down by her side. "You're pissed at me and then go do the one thing you swore to me you'd never do? Who are you trying to become? This isn't you Ross and forget about what everyone else thinks, I know that you think it isn't you and yet you're still acting this way because why? Is it because I wasn't in your life anymore?"

"You don't know anything." Ross snapped at her. "You haven't been in my life for the past year-"

"Like you already said," Laura snapped back.

"You don't have the right to judge me or to tell me what to do with my life. It's my fucking life! Let me do what I fucking want!" He was yelling at her now and truth be told, it was starting to scare her. It wasn't the Ross she'd fallen in love with, it was a completely different one. Though, she still kept her intense stare on him and through that stare, in his eyes, she could see the Ross she'd fallen for was still in there somewhere.

But she wasn't going to waste her time to try and see if he'd come back.

"Fine," She finally said, her tone steady though it broke towards the end. "Then you're on your own. I can't do this, okay? I'm done." With that she held her hands up and without another word, opened the door and without even bothering to say goodbye, left the house. She was just at her car, digging through her bag to find her keys, when she felt a hand on her shoulder that nearly gave her a heart attack. She turned around to see Ratliff was behind her.

"Intense fight," He said and she furrowed her eyebrows, confused, until it hit her and she realized what he was talking about.

"Yeah, well, I tried." She said finally finding her keys and then unlocking the door.

"You did, yeah." He agreed as she got in and closed the door. She rolled down the window and he leaned against it, looking down at her. She sighed and leaned back, looking up at him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him. "I already tried, he doesn't want to listen to reason."

"I'm actually here to ask you something." She motioned for him to continue. "Do you love him?"

"Why would that-"

"Just answer my question," He interrupted her and she looked up at him.

"Of course, I never stopped."

"Then… don't give up on him." He said and with that, pushed himself away from the car. He put his hands in his pockets, leaving an impression on Laura's mind as she drove away.

Now she was stuck and didn't know what to do anymore.

* * *

"Come to one show, please? We're playing in LA and I would love, love, love it if you were there, in the front row or backstage, whatever makes you happy, cheering me on." Ross pouted at her as he sat beside her on the couch in her dressing room. She looked up from her homework and raised an eyebrow.

"I never said I wasn't going to go to one of your shows." She reminded him. "I'm just too busy with school and work-"

"Just one show, we won't be playing in LA for a while and I don't want you to miss out on it." He looked down and then he took the pencil she was holding out of her hand, and held it tight, lacing their fingers. She smiled at the gesture as it was sweet and so Ross, it made her insides melt.

She leaned in closer and he smiled at her, "are you going to sound like a high chipmunk?" She asked him referring to how high his voice got when he sang sometimes. He rolled his eyes at that one.

"Dude, I'm only fifteen, give me a minute and no. It won't. I'm learning to fight through that."

"What puberty?" She joked and he rolled his eyes again.

"That happened a while ago, thank you very much." He stuck his tongue out and she laughed. They then realized how close they were and smiled again.

"Okay," She finally said, her free hand going to his cheek. "I'll go."

"Yes!" He leaned back and pumped his fist that wasn't hold her hand and then smiled at her again and leaned in, giving her a soft kiss on the lips. He broke it a few seconds later, "just remember, Gabriella totally rules." And with that winked at her.

"Troy's okay." She laughed and he shook his head, kissing her again.

"Now go back to doing your homework," He told her.

"Don't you have homework?" She asked him.

He shrugged, "probably." He laughed at the look on her face, "relax, I already did it. Mom makes me do it every night. She's tough man."

She laughed. "Wanna help me with mine then?"

"Not like I've got anything better to do," He joked and then he let go of her hand so that she could write again. He put his arm on the back of the couch and looked at her. She smiled at him and he smiled back and then they started working on her homework together.

* * *

She missed his smile.

She missed his humor.

His childishness, his ability to stay positive no matter what situation it was, and his charm.

But what she missed the most was _him_.

She wondered if he was ever going to come back.

She didn't know why she was doing it, why she was looking through a box of old photos she kept of their friendship, their relationship and everything else. The box had videos, old DVDs of their show, of backstage stuff, of videos Rydel took of them the few times she joined them on tour, just everything.

Why was she torturing herself?

Because she was a masochist, that's why. That had to be the only reason.

As she was looking through her box, she heard a soft meow and then turned to see the kitten she'd started taking care of, walk up to her. She picked him up and then made a face.

"How are you? I'm confused, thanks for asking." She said and the kitten tilted his head in confusion. "I'm talking to a cat, okay, I've officially gone overboard or something, whatever." The kitten meowed again and she looked at him, "I still have to come up with a name for you and saying meow isn't going to work."

She sighed, "It'll come to me, I'm sure."

Then she gently put him down and continued to look through her pictures. The kitten jumped up and looked into the box, looked at her and then back into the box again.

"You're curious, aren't you?" She asked him and he looked up at her again, tilting his head. "They're just some old pictures."

Of her life from when she was fifteen forward that was. But he didn't need to know that.

He kept looking into the box, and being curious herself, she picked up the picture he was looking at, noticing that he had stopped and sat down by her side. She looked at the photo again and then she bit her lip to keep from crying.

The picture was a photo of herself, Ross, Calum, Raini, Ratliff, Rydel, Riker, Rocky, Ryland, Vanessa and Maia. They were smiling and happy, arms wrapped around each other's and just all around happiness in the air. They were on a beach and soaking wet. She remembered that day as the day she, Rydel, Vanessa, Raini and Maia were tanning and sitting in the sun, while the boys played games in the water.

Ross had jumped in and had gotten all wet (as what normally would happen when you go in the water) and walked up to Laura. She hadn't planned on getting wet at all that day and was reading her book, very into it when suddenly she felt someone wrap their arms around her from behind and picked her up. She started to squeal and kick her legs and then Ross laughed and put her down. Turning towards him, she stepped back and realized that her sundress was all wet.

"Ross!" She had whined and he just laughed hugging her again and when he pulled away to look at her, he had a twinkle in his eye and then told her she had to get in the water now, since she was pretty much wet.

It had been a fun day. They were free, carefree and just spending time being normal for a while. Her parents, his parents and Ratliff's parents were there as well and she remembered everyone laughing at their antics.

It was a fun day, a fun memory and something she'd never forget.

A tear slipped down her cheek and onto the photo.

She just wished things could go back to the way they were again.

* * *

She loved his concerts.

More so than any other concert she'd ever gone to and she was sure she wasn't being too biased.

His band was amazing, all of the energy had was for sure matched, if not more, by the insane crowds they performed in front of.

His singing was amazing, of course. His guitar playing skills… damn she wished she had the skill and just everything about him was awesome.

His band too (which consisted of his brothers and sister (he considered the family friend a brother and it made sense as he fit right in with them) just worked so well with each other. She knew they were going to be legendary someday.

And she was always front row, cheering them on with either her sister, Calum and/or Raini, Maia or any other friend they had. She liked to think she cheered the loudest, but she honestly wasn't sure. The other girls in the crowd were so loud.

Then once the show was over, she was always the first to greet him backstage, jumping on him, her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms around his neck as she either hugged him, kissed him, or both.

He was also, always sweaty, which he constantly reminded her, but she never really cared. She was too pumped up from the concerts to give a shit about his sweatiness.

This concert in particular though, she decided she was going to watch from backstage with Stormie, Mark and Ryland and even help out Ryland a bit if he needed it. He knew she was back there and would constantly check during the show to make sure she was still there. She later laughed at that because it was so cute and so Ross. When she was in front of him, he'd always have his eyes on her and it always made her blush or smile, especially when one of her friends teased her about it later on.

Ryland asked her for help at the merchandise table and she nodded, following after him through the crowd all the way to the front of the venue. He told her where to go and what the do and as she started to sell t-shirts and other things, she smiled to herself. Ryland looked over at her and she blushed and then continued to do her job.

She really, really liked the boy who was currently rocking out on stage. Maybe not love, just yet. But for now, she was in strong like and that was enough for her to be happy.

* * *

Ratliff had been right.

And she really hated when people were right and she was wrong.

Of course, she still loved Ross. That was never going to change.

She knew she had to help him and not give up, but she didn't know how to or what to do.

Looking at those pictures with her yet to be named kitten made her relive the past and all the beautiful and amazing moments she shared with Ross. Though it made her cry and feel nostalgic it also made her feel… happy in a strange way.

She knew that if she didn't do something, she would lose Ross. Forever.

So, she found herself back at the Lynch house. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes again and then pressed the doorbell.

It took a few minutes but it soon opened to reveal Ratliff on the other side, eating an apple.

"I knew you'd come back," He said quietly, though he gave her a small, reassuring smile. She did the same back and then nodded, stepping inside. "He's on the couch, right now, with Rydel, watching a movie." She nodded again and then he motioned for her to follow him to the living room, where she saw Rydel and Ross were deeply engrossed in the movie. Turning to see the screen, she saw that it was their favorite.

_Frozen_.

She wanted to smile at the fact that he was watching a top five favorite movie of hers (and his), but she couldn't.

"Hey," She said softly and two blonde heads turned towards her as Ratliff walked down the steps to the living room. He sat down on the couch beside Rydel and then continued to watch the movie.

"Hey, Laura, want to join us?" Rydel smiled at her and she smiled back, nodding her head as she walked down the steps. She found that the closest place she could sit was beside Ross. He just shrugged and moved over about two inches. She sat down on the edge of the couch and then leaned her elbows on her knees.

To be completely honest, she wasn't feeling very comfortable right at that moment.

Uncomfortable would be an understated word to describe how she was feeling, if she were to be completely honest.

"So, what's up?" She heard and turned her head to her left to see that it was Ross that had spoken, to her surprise.

"Not much, what's up with you?" She casually asked him in return.

"Watching a movie," He answered and she couldn't help but laugh at that. He had said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world (she couldn't blame him really as it was the truth) and it just made her laugh. She saw him give her a small smile and then she stopped, looking down at her red painted finger nails. He reached forward and in an instant, her hand was in his as he held it up to look closely at it. "Wow, same color you always wore on set."

How would he even remember that? She wondered.

"How can you tell?" She asked.

He shrugged, "I always liked it. I think I even told you once that I did." She nodded, remembering the day he did and smiled to herself. "It always looked good on you, so I don't know." He shrugged again and she looked closely at him. It had only been two days since she last saw him, but he seemed different, even looked a bit different as well.

"I don't want come off rude as asking this, but what happened? Two days ago, you were upstairs, in the darkest place I've ever seen you, figuratively and pretty much literally and now you seem more… I don't know, better?" Laura looked at him and he looked back at her a few moments before answering.

She wasn't expecting his answer. It was honest and Ross was nothing, if not the most honest person she'd ever met in her life.

"The other day, when you came to see me, it was the first time I saw you in a year," He began and she nodded for him to continue, "and it was because of shitty circumstances. I don't know, you just being there made me think of all the good times and I just missed it, you know? Being happy."

"Why aren't you happy?" She asked, cutting into his story.

"Our fight, it was, it was bad." He said and she nodded, "it sucked and if you were to come back in my life, even if it was for a temporary reason then I felt like I could… try to make mine better, you know?"

She nodded, "just because I'm here though, shouldn't affect your decision to be happy or not. For all I know, I'm the reason you went into the dark place in the first place."

"No, no." Ross said, sitting up, he turned to face her and then they both realized that he never let go of her hand.

It was like they were fifteen again.

He took a deep breath, before continuing, Rydel muting the tv so that he could talk to her without the sounds of happy, jumping people in the background.

"You're not the reason for me going into that dark place, okay? You aren't."

"How do I know that?" Laura's voice broke, "I mean, you and I were together for almost three years, we got into a huge fight, I leave and you turn to drugs, why did you turn to drugs Ross? You promised you wouldn't and you did! Why would you do something we agreed you never would do?" She was starting to hyperventilate as her words started getting louder, but she didn't care. She just wanted answers and she was getting them.

Even if part of her sudden anxiety was because she felt guilty.

"I was angry." Ross finally answered.

She looked at him in disbelief, "that's not a reason!" She then pulled her hand out of his, immediately missing the contact, but not caring at that moment about it, she put her hands in her hair and started to pull on one of the strands, a habit she'd had ever since she was a child.

"Let me finish," Well, Ross was pretty calm for someone who was pretty much getting interrogated. She just shrugged and he continued on anyway, "I was angry because of a lot of things, our fight, our record label wanting so much from me, the fact that our show didn't get another season, the fact that I was going to be on tour for the rest of my fucking life, just everything okay? And I wanted to act out. That was the only way I figured out how to and it was while we were somewhere in Europe. I met a fan, they took me out to a club and I just went crazy. I didn't care and I loved it. I didn't think about the consequences or anything, I just wanted to feel that feeling again. It helped me forget and it was awesome." He looked away and Laura just stood there, not saying a word. "It got worse and worse, as you already know… and it got to the point where I would blow off rehearsals, concerts, everything. I mean, I almost was the reason why the band lost their record deal."

"Then what was the wake up call for you?" She asked him.

"You." He said it simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You coming to visit me the other day, even though I yelled at you, telling you to let me do what I wanted and then I guess it really hit me when you said I had to do it on my own and that you were done. I didn't really think about it much before, but I realized then that if I didn't do something then everyone else was going to give up on me too and then I would truly be alone and I didn't want that."

He paused and she let his words sink in, before she sat closer to him again. He looked up at her and she saw a meaningful look in his eyes.

She then took his hand in hers and they both looked down as she laced their fingers together and held it like she had never let it go.

"Why did yo come back?" He finally asked her, almost in a whisper, as he looked up at her.

Laura looked at him and then her eyes briefly went over his shoulder to look at Ratliff who just gave her a nod and a small smile. She looked back at Ross.

"Ratliff actually helped a lot with that," She admitted and Ross looked at her confused, turning his head to his best friend. Rydel did the same thing and then Laura explained herself. "The day I left, he asked me a question and it really resonated with me."

"What was that?" Ross asked her.

"He asked, straight up, if I still love you and I answered back," She paused, suddenly feeling nervous, but knowing she had to continue, "that I never stopped." His hand then tightened around hers and she wasn't sure if it was because of her words or if he even realized he did it. "Then he told me to never give up on you and after looking through old pictures of us and reliving practically every moment we've ever had together, I realized that he was right. No matter what, I couldn't ever give up on you."

This time her hand tightened around his and then without another word she just felt her eyes fill with tears and then let out a sob as she put her other hand over her face and fell against his chest. He seemed shocked for a moment, before he wrapped his other arm around her and hugged her tight.

"I can't lose you, Ross okay? I can't." She whispered after a few moments and looked up at him, her cheeks tear stained, tears still in her eyes and he just nodded, tears coming out of his eyes as well.

"I'm not going anywhere." He promised and then looked over her shoulder. She looked behind her to see Riker, Rocky, Ryland, Mark and Stormie were standing there, tears in their eyes. She looked over towards Ross and saw that Rydel and Ratliff also had the same look in their eyes.

"You have to do it," She finally said, turning back to look at Ross. "You have to get help okay? It's not an option anymore. You need it."

Ross' face scrunched up and she knew what was coming next. He closed his eyes, nodding his head and she saw tears slip down his cheeks. He softly cried for a few seconds and she hugged him as he cried into her shoulder. He tightened his hug and she did the same, almost afraid that if she didn't, he'd be gone forever.

She saw Rocky walk around the coffee table from the corner of her eye and mouth, 'you did it, thanks'.

She just nodded and then hugged Ross again.

* * *

"Whoa! Did you see that?" Ross exclaimed as he covered his eyes with his hand and looked up at the sky. It caught Laura's attention and she looked up to see a plane do a flip in the air and then a few others did the same.

She wasn't sure what type of planes they were as she didn't know much about planes, but all day Ross had been giving her, Ratliff, his brothers, sister and parents lessons on each and every type of plane they saw.

It was so adorable to her how excited he was about each one he talked about. Like a little kid telling his parents facts about animals that he'd just learned in school.

"Yeah that's pretty cool," She smiled at him and he smiled back at her. He slipped his arm around her waist and then looked up again, she did the same. "Tell me more."

He looked at her, "seriously?"

"Yeah, I want to know."

His face lit up and he started talking about everything he knew about planes and she listened, genuinely interested. It made her happy to see him so excited about something outside of the entertainment industry. He even talked about how planes worked and how they were built to be as big as they were but still able to fly. That he told her was the most fascinating thing about them to him.

After a couple of hours, it was time for dinner. Laura sat next to him while everyone got their orders so that they wouldn't lose the table. He had his arm wrapped around her and she had her head on his shoulder.

"So, what do you want to do for your birthday?" Ross asked her.

She shrugged, "I don't know. It doesn't have to be special or anything."

Ross looked thoughtful, "how about a special Ross/Laura day?"

She smiled, "I'd really like that. In fact…" She leaned in closer, "that sounds perfect."

He smiled and looked around for a moment before gently pressing his lips against hers. He broke it and then he had the thoughtful look back on his face again.

"What?" She asked as a breeze blew her hair into her face.

He moved it and smiled at her, "you're just really cute, you know?"

She smiled back, "I've heard that once or twice before."

* * *

She had left his house that day, feeling a bit better. Ross had promised he was going to get help. He had promised his brothers, sister, mother, father, best friend and her, that he would do it.

That was over six weeks ago and she hadn't seen him since.

She'd seen Rydel and Ratliff, Rocky and Riker a few times and even Ryland and his parents, but not him. She hadn't wanted to bother him. She really wanted him to get better and if that meant leaving him alone, then so be it. She'd do it.

She heard a meow at her feet and picked up the still unnamed kitten.

It wasn't like her not to give a name to a pet right away. Her dog, Velvet, she had named immediately after getting her. Considering she was the only pet she'd ever had, she really hadn't had much other experiences to go off of.

"What should I name you?" She asked the kitten. Since she'd discovered it was a boy, she had to think of boy names, but since her mind was totally occupied on one boy in particular, she hadn't really thought of any.

He meowed again and she smiled, holding him to her chest, she pet him behind his ear as she stared at her feet on the railing, and then her eyes moved up to the sky.

"Let's think of names for you… we could start with Rodger, but no, too old school. Or, Garfield, but that's too cliche, how about…" She trailed off as she thought of Ross and where he was at that moment. She had no idea if he was done with his treatment yet. Weren't those usually six to eight weeks anyway?

She sighed and continued to pet the kitten who started to purr and settle himself against her more comfortably.

Boy names, right. She had to think of boy names.

It was harder than she thought. So many names to choose from, but not the perfect one that would fit him.

He was definitely a troublemaker. She'd come home to find he had ripped up toilet paper or had knocked things over.

He was also a bit clumsy and tended to run sideways for some strange reason.

He also ate a lot and though it was strange, especially for a cat, he tended to eat pancakes whenever she made them.

She had thought briefly, of naming him Pancakes and had even told her sister about the name, but even her sister thought it was lame, so she had decided it against it almost immediately.

Sighing, she decided to give thinking of a name for her kitten a rest and focused more on her friend. She couldn't deny she missed him. All those times on set where they would joke around, write songs, argue, kiss, have tickle wars or marshmallow gun fights with Calum and Raini.

She sure missed him. Austin. Ross.

Wait.

_Austin_.

She looked at the kitten and then realized that that was the name.

She would name him Austin.

"I have a name for you." She said, quietly, lifting the kitten up. "Finally and it's perfect." He just adorably tilted his head and she smiled, knowing now that it was the most perfect name. "Austin, I'm going to call you Austin." And then she hugged him close, petting him again. She stared straight ahead and sighed, "I just wish I knew where my Austin was."

"He's probably closer than you think," She heard and then looked down, confused at the kitten. "Turn around."

She did, still confused and then her heart skipped and her stomach dropped and her eyes lit up.

Ross was right behind her, his hands in his pockets and a shy smile on his face. He had instantly reminded her of his adorable fifteen year old self in the moment and more than anything, reminded her of the guy she fell in love with at such a young age.

"He's cute." He tilted his head towards Austin.

"Yeah," She smiled, "and he likes pancakes."

"The name's perfect for him." He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"You look… amazing." She told him and it was true. His hair was clean, his eyes were brighter, his skin less pale. He looked like he had worked his ass off to get better and it showed.

"I just got back this morning," He told her as he went to sit down in the chair beside her. "Riker picked me up and took me straight here."

"Where is he? Is he here?" She asked, looking around.

"He's probably home by now." Ross told her. "I didn't want him to waste his time waiting for me. I think a lot of people have done that enough as it is."

She nodded.

"I um, just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry and…" He reached out, taking his hand in hers. "Thanks."

She nodded, "I didn't want to see you suffer."

"I know. I don't think anyone did. I don't think I even wanted to."

She gently put the kitten down and then to his surprise, got up, her hand never letting go of his and sat down on his lap. "You're not alone, you know? You never were. Regardless if I was in your life or not. You've still got your family, your friends… your fans."

"But not the most important person," Ross told her, his voice emotion filled. "I wanted you in my life more than anything else."

"Well, now you have me." She gave him a smile, "what are you gonna do about it?" She said it like a challenge. It made his heart skip.

He looked in between her eyes and her face and smiled. "This." And then he kissed her, passionately, lovingly and gently. Her hand went to his cheek and she tenderly kissed him back.

It wasn't until they both pulled away, that they noticed the other was crying. Immediately, they shared a hug.

"Cats don't talk, by the way." Ross said a few moments later and Laura playfully rolled her eyes. He had ruined the comfortable, shared silence, but it was worth it.

"You should see him when he's hungry or being playful." She told him seriously, pulling away from the hug to look at him. Then she laughed and hugged him tight.

* * *

"We'll always be Austin and Ally," Laura told Ross, smiling at him as they sat on the couch in his dressing room. "No matter where we are, what we're doing, what country we're in," She pointedly looked at him and he laughed. "We'll always and forever be Austin and Ally, the perfect partners, the perfect friendship, the perfect couple."

He smiled at her and she reached her hand out to touch his.

* * *

Laura squeezed Ross' hand. "Austin and Ally, forever." She whispered.

"And always," He whispered back and then he wrapped his arms around her waist and Laura turned, getting more comfortable in his lap, they watched the sun set together, happy, comfortable and free.

Tommy and Chuckie to Troy and Gabriella to Austin and Ally and Ross and Laura.

They were finally where they needed to be and where it was, was perfect.

* * *

_Yeah, so cheesy. I know. So... tell me what you think. If you've made it this far, I should give you all a virtual high five or something. Really. _

_Well, now I'm off to my dance recital. Wish me luck! :) _


End file.
